The head and neck contain many muscles which are utilized and strained on a daily basis. Neck pains are one of the most common forms of physical muscular distress experienced on a general basis, as the neck is subjected to many forms of duress during a common daily routine including craning from side to side for sight purposes, improper support due to poor sitting and standing postures, angled pressure experienced while sleeping, rapid movement during exercise and sporting events, and the like.
Despite the prevalence of neck discomforts and ailments, there are few commonly employed exercise devices utilized for purposes of strengthening and training the neck muscles, or for providing therapeutic benefits in the case where neck strain has already become an issue. This is in contrast to many portions of the human body, where common muscle training implements are well known and in widespread use.
Various attempts have been made to provide neck exercising apparatuses. Examples of these attempts can be seen by reference to several U.S. patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,060, issued in the name of Hohenfeldt, describes a physical conditioning apparatus which combines headgear and jump-rope type ropes and grips in order to provide combined exercise capabilities to both the wrist and neck muscles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,093, issued in the name of Forrest, Sr. et al., describes a fluid-filled neck exerciser. The Forrest, Sr. apparatus utilizes fluid filling means for air, water, or the like in order to provide exercise functionality to the integral headwear.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,066, issued in the name of Williams, describes an exercise helmet. The Williams apparatus allows a user to attach conventional dumbbell type weights to the apparatus in order to provide weight resistance capabilities.
Additionally, ornamental designs for a neck trainer exist, particularly U.S. Pat. No. D 566,799. However, none of these designs are similar to the present invention.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffer from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Many such apparatuses are not adaptable to a wide range of training applications. In addition, many such apparatuses are unintuitive or uncomfortable to a user. Furthermore, many such apparatuses do not provide any peripheral benefits. Accordingly, there exists a need for a neck training apparatus without the disadvantages as described above. The development of the present invention substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.